


Stranger Things Have Come True

by Anonymous



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Angst, European Figure Skating Championships, Flashbacks, Fluff, Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, Hasetsu, Holding Hands, Japan, Long-Distance Relationship, Love Confessions, M/M, Makkachin - Freeform, One-Sided Attraction, Post Season 1, Russian Pet Names, Sightseeing, Skype, Texting, Train Stations, Traveling Together, Unrequited Love, Vignette, Visiting each other, World Figure Skating Championships, cooking together, pirozhki
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-01
Updated: 2017-04-14
Packaged: 2018-10-13 17:06:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10518108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: "So." Otabek holds out his hand. "Are we gonna go out or what?"Yuri looks down at it. This scene is a familiar one. Fingerless gloves even though his bike isn't here with them, though at least it's summer this time around. They're sitting on a bench waiting for their train. They aren't alone.This time Yuri does not take his hand.-When Yuri goes back to Hasetsu to learn his Free Skate from Victor, he takes Otabek with him. Hasetsu brings forth something new in Otabek. In Yuri, it sparks something he'd hoped he'd long gotten over.The summer in which Yuri learns his choreography like a good figure skater, tries to make things up with Otabek, ignores Victor and Yuuri's constant flirting, and hangs out with Yuuko because she asks him to.





	1. Yurochka - Confessions in Hasetsu, Japan!

**Author's Note:**

> So here it is! My OtaYuri story! This will a multi-chapter in a sort of vignette-like format. I'm not sure how many chapters there will end up being but I have the first few finished.
> 
> This story will be told semi-out of order, with the story progressing from this point (Summer 2017) as well as including flashbacks from between the GPF in the show's finale to how they reached this point.
> 
> The drink Victor buys is a real thing.

"I like you, _Yurochka_ ," Otabek says. "You know that."

Yuri does not look at him. Tries not to shiver with the weight and feel of the pet name. Instead he stares at some power lines bisecting his view of the sunset and thinks how it's so like Otabek to say it outright like that. Easily. Like they both know it. Because, of course they do, and Yuri wants to kick himself for not being the first one to say it like Otabek does. Easily. Because it is easy. 

From Otabek the confession is plain, with an unspoken 'And I know you like me too'. The fact that he bothers to say it at all . . . It must be pretty fucking important to him. Furvative, Yuri glances at the other man beside him, at his shirt collar. Avoiding his gaze which he can feel on him like a physical thing.

"So." Otabek holds out his hand. "Are we gonna go out or what?"

Yuri looks down at it. This scene is a familiar one. Fingerless gloves even though his bike isn't here with them, though at least it's summer this time around. They're sitting on a bench waiting for their train. They aren't alone. 

This time Yuri does not take his hand.

He isn't sure why. 

He wants to, opens his mouth to say something, fuck if he knows what. The loud speaker comes on and a woman announces something in Japanese but he can't understand shit, _arigatou gozaimasu_ and all that. He tilts his head away from Otabek anyway, as if he's listening. 

Victor and Katsuki, who left them to buy drinks from the vending machines, have suddenly appeared on the platform closer to the train tracks. Yuri idly wonders how he missed them since Victor is determined to act like a stereotypical foreigner all the damn time and when around him, Yuri alternates between feeling embarrassed and angry in turn. He might not be the friendliest person but at least he doesn't “ _sugoi-ne_!” at every other thing. Yuri has chosen to ignore the way Katsuki's eyes light up when Victor speaks Japanese, or when he says something seemingly offhanded that makes Katsuki wave his hands with a scandalized expression. One day of sightseeing with Figure Skating's Greatest Couple and Yuri decides he's better off not knowing Japanese.

"Train's here," Yuri says, or that's what he'd gathered from Victor's wild gesturing at the approaching train car. He trusts Katsuki to get them on the correct one. Standing, Yuri turns with the pretense of a 'you coming, or what?' look as an excuse to check out Otabek's expression after what he knows was a huge fuck-up on his part. He's long dropped his extended hand into his lap. To anyone else, his face would look impassive but Yuri can read Otabek's face and the subtle emotions he displays there. He doesn't have a clue when the hell that happened but he can. There's a slight widening of his eyes, and his lips are pressed together. Yuri's never seen that expression on him before. Or fuck, maybe he has and he's only just learned it now. 

Otabek stands and walks to meet the others with Yuri. He avoids Yuri's eyes. Victor tries to show them some insane pancake flavored drink he bought and Katsuki shakes his head in fond exasperation.

They board the train. Yuri hides behind custom as an excuse not to say anything. He and Otabek give up their seats for two women and are left standing. Yuri can feel the swell of Otabek's ribcage at his elbow and he doesn't move it. He pretends to listen to Katsuki's whispered discussion with Victor and in the middle of that he has the urge to nudge Otabek with his elbow and smile teasingly. "Who the hell asks to start dating someone with a handshake? Did you want to be my boyfriend or close a business deal?"

But he doesn't say it because he should have said it back there if anything and saying it now would just be cruel. And this isn't something to tease Otabek about. Like his hairstyle or his bike or his surprising talent for singing, his confession— his invitation— is off-limits. 

Yuri knows he really fucked up when Victor, oblivious Victor, turns to look at them as they're walking from the station to Yuu-topia. "You two were so cute before," he says with an exaggerated pout that makes Yuri want to slap him. "What happened?"

Yuri has a perfect scathing comeback ready when he catches Katsuki looking back at them too. Katsuki, oblivious-to-all-things-sex-and-romance, pork-cutlet-bowls-are-my-Eros-but-I-can-still-beat-you-in-a-dance-off Katsuki, doesn't look at all confused by Victor's questions. 

He follows the slope of Katsuki's arm to where his hand disappears into the pocket of Victor's light jacket. This is apparently how Katsuki prefers to hold hands. Yuri averts his gaze to the sidewalk and then up again toward to soft glow of Yuu-topia ahead of them.

"Nothing," he and Otabek say at nearly the exact same time.


	2. How to Piss Off Your Lover Before Breakfast - Return to Yuu-topia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuri's first morning in Yuu-topia doesn't start off as well as he'd like.

The sun streams directly into the window of the room Mari put him in and Yuri finds this out the hard way when it wakes him up the next morning. He groans and rolls over, pulling the pillow over his face. But it's no use. While it does the job of blocking out the harsh golden light, the sounds of the morning rush still reach him through the thin walls. Mari knocking softly on the door across the hall with what he recognizes as 'good morning' in Japanese. Nearby, Victor consoling Yuuri about what seems like a crisis about socks. The tread of guests on tatami. The clatter of a dish falling and a stream of apologies.

A scratching sound wakes him from a light doze a few minutes later. There's a muffled murmur and the sound of the door sliding open and then—

"Oof!" Yuri exclaims at the sudden weight on his chest. "Ah, fuck!" He throws the pillow off his face and scowls at Victor's dog, who's got his front paws stretched out and head dropped in playful anticipation, tongue lolling and tail wagging rapidly behind him.  


Yuri shoves at his massive head. "Get off me, dog breath." Makkachin, undeterred, takes that as an invitation to pounce on him and start licking his face. There's a lot of incoherent protests on his part and excited whines from the dog until someone finally takes pity on him and drags Makkachin away. Yuri props himself up on his forearm, scrubbing at his face with his sleeve. His skin is sticky with sleep-sweat, his hair curling against his cheek.

"Sorry," Otabek says and Yuri blinks open one eye to see him bending to scratch Makkachin behind the ears. He notices with a hint of annoyance the way Makkachin sits obediently at his feet when Otabek straightens out. "The dog wanted to come in."  


"Obviously."

Yuri sits up completely. His oversized shirt is slipping off his shoulder. He doesn't bother to fix it. He's not stupid enough to think they could get away with anything in the inn, not with its paper-thin walls and the day of training ahead of them. (Victor insists they aren't allowed to 'slack off'’ as if he'd never dragged two jet-lagged people around Hasetsu the day before.)Yuri doesn't really care if anyone knows about his sex life. But Otabek is a private person and he gets into a weird mindset where training is concerned and not even Yuri can seduce him into a lack of propriety. Plus, he realizes with a shudder, Mari might find them going at it in her family's inn, and he doesn't want to risk getting on her bad side. She's so different from Katsuki, it's hard to believe they're related. Yuri doesn't know whether to be scared or impressed. 

But Otabek has been eyeing him with interest the entire time and the soft of his mouth makes Yuri think about kissing him. Skin prickling hot under the other man's gaze, Yuri smiles and meets his eyes. "About yesterday," he says in Russian, which will keep out most everyone else in the house. "I'll make it up to you later. Like how you cheered me up after Worlds?" Yuri wiggles his eyebrows, undaunted when the other man's expression shows no change. That's not the kind of reaction one looks for from Otabek Altin.  


"Everyone's ready for breakfast," he says and looks away. "It would be rude to keep them waiting."

Yuri frowns, adjusts his shirt.

Otabek exits the room without another word, Makkachin at his heels.

The fuck? 

Yuri blinks at the closed door. 

_The fuck?_

He gets up. Yuri yanks open his suitcase and pulls on whatever clothes his hands touch. _No you're fucking rude, fuck you!_ he thinks.

He looks down at himself, scowling. He's wearing the tiger shirt he bought when he first landed in Hasetsu over a year ago. It feels appropriate somehow. Some of his anger subsides.

Grumbling, Yuri gets his toothbrush and trudges off to find an unoccupied sink before he joins the others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! This chapter was particularly fun to write.
> 
> Makkachin is fine and still adorable as ever.
> 
> I'm modeling the chapter titles like episodes titles and it's lots of fun. The location-mention will come in handy when we get to flashbacks. ^^


	3. Here’s Your Free Skate, Brat – Hasetsu Ice Castle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuri's Free Skate is revealed.

When they arrive at the rink, Yuuko's there to greet them. Of course. Her husband waves from behind the counter and her kids pop out of nowhere and swarm everyone before the doors have shut behind them. Yuuko throws her arms around Yuri and pulls him to her in a surprisingly strong hug. She squeals something about her "other best friend" and how it's been too long.

Yuri bites back the urge to remind her she'd texted both him and Yuuri while they were sightseeing the day before, and how he'd Skyped her from Almaty with the news about spending summer in Japan and nearly had to buy new headphones for all her enthusiasm.

He returns her embrace. "Nice to see you too, Yuuko."

And then Yuuko exclaims, "Oh!" right into his ear and pulls back, looking somewhere behind him. "Is this Otabek?" 

Yuri turns to see Otabek step forward with his hand held out. Yuuko takes it lightly and tilts her head forward a bit in a bow. "It is nice to meet you, Otabek," she says warmly, teasing gone. 

"I've heard so much about you," Otabek replies. Yuri can't help but notice how he softens just a little around her and despite how much he wants them both to get along, there's a hot spike of jealousy in his chest. Not that he's jealous of them exactly— only an idiot would say Yuuko isn't disgustingly happy with her marriage. He wants to be the one to make Otabek let his guard down like that. He thinks of the train station, a quiet confession after a day of sightseeing together. Otabek had opened up then and how had Yuri received it?

But Yuuko releases Otabek's hand and eyes Yuri meaningfully and the moment mostly evaporates. "Yuri-kun has told me a lot about you too."

Yuri shoves his hands into his jacket pockets. "I didn't tell either of you shit," he mumbles.

Yuuko giggles behind her hand like he's said something funny. He shrugs and makes his way to the benches to put on his skates.

 

Katsuki is already on the ice by the time Yuri and Otabek join Victor rinkside, followed closely by Yuuko, who's wearing skates of her own and talking animatedly about how excited she is to see the choreography reveals. 

Victor smiles and does an open-armed spin. "It's so nice to be together again."

"It really is!" Yuuko chimes in, face bright in Yuri's periphery. "I've missed everyone. Especially you, Yuuri!" She rounds on Katsuki accusingly as soon as he's off the ice and he nearly drops his guards when she launches into a lecture about how he can't get away with moving to Russia without Skyping her at least twice a week. 

"I-I'm sorry, Yuu-chan," Yuuri murmurs, blushing. "I'll make more of an effort. I've missed to, too."

Yuri almost has to smile knowing even he's probably talked to her more. Yuuko brightens at the nickname, sternness banished, and it seems all is forgiven.

"Yeah, whatever," he says to Victor. "Just show me my Free Skate. And it better be good, old man."

"So ungrateful after all the hard work I put into choreographing something for you," Victor whines.

Katsuki smiles and walks on guarded skates to pat Victor's arm reassuringly. "He's been working hard since we got back," he says. "And no one has seen them in full yet. Not even me."

Yuuko looks up with interest at the engage, then moves to take her position against the boards on the other side of the opening. She crosses one skate behind the other, the blade guards a bright pink. 

Victor makes a smug-sounding hum and glances sideways at Yuri. Katsuki busies himself with collecting Victor's jacket, sliding it almost reverently from Victor's shoulders and folding it carefully over his own arm. He joins Yuuko, who links her arm with his. She’s practically bouncing with excitement. 

Victor makes his way to the center of the ice. "Patience, Yurio," Victor says, somehow haughty and playful at once. Yuri glares down at the blade guards left beside him on the boards and resists a childish need to knock them onto the ice.

Otabek's quiet presence stops him. As the other settles beside him, posture casual with his arms folded like Yuri's and a gaze trained studiously on Victor, Yuri finds himself shifting. Slotted against Otabek like it's the most natural thing in the world. Yuri's validation comes when despite the rising heat in his own face, despite their earlier spat and the palpable silence between them during breakfast, Otabek does not move or otherwise acknowledge their positions. Hips and elbows touching, boot of Yuri's skate brushing Otabek's— they are the epitome of evasion and intimacy. Yuri wonders when that happened. He frowns. He still feels a wall between them, more acutely here in a rink where they should be their most open. But it's dissolving. Just a little. He wants to go back to how they were before but it wouldn't be fair to push Otabek when he'd already pushed him away.

Yuri's drawn back to the moment by music.

It starts out softly with tiny bell-like notes and Victor has adopted a loose stance, legs apart and hands curled in fists at his sides. With his head down, Victor gives the impression of something dark and untapped. It's an interesting contrast. Yuuko gives a small gasp but otherwise the audience is silent. Yuri leans forward, intrigued, and promptly frowns when the vocals start. It's a woman's voice, singing in English, and he can't make out the lyrics because Victor starts talking.

" _Across the Sky_ ," he says grandly as he moves into a sweeping, graceful kind of step sequence. The fluidity of it reminds him a little of _Agape_ but already there is no gentleness here. The innocent expression of last season's short program is gone. Victor would never allow himself to choreograph the same thing twice. As he watches Victor move with intent and determination, Yuri senses a kind of maturity in the program that he'll be expected to display himself. "The theme is dark fantasy," Victor continues. "A wish. An unrelenting flight through dangerous territory. And it's too dark to see where you're going but you move forward all the same." Yuri sees space for a jump combination. Victor gives a wink and spins before he can catch the scowl Yuri directs at him. "You are mystery and darkness itself and yet you _love_ ," he continues, head back, throat bared. And then Victor slips back into his air of unchecked aggression. The music picks up. Victor's movements are bold and chaotic. Passionate like the fucking show-off Victor always is. 

As the demonstration continues, Yuri comes to understand what Victor is trying to do— get Yuuri to focus more on presentation. 

It's even more complex than _Agape_ by far and with a focus on step-sequence that makes Yuri suspicious, but a little more Yuri's style. Though it’s slower, there’s a frantic, bold element to the movements that reminds him of Lilia’s choreography. _Across the Sky_ is certainly no _Welcome to the Madness_ — nothing can beat the rawness of that— though Yuri can recognize the same sense of aggression, if a little more subdued. He appreciates that Victor seems to have at least tried to create something that suits him this time, even if it has _Victor_ all over it. He's sure he'll like it more once they start adding jumps, get away from the girly artistry crap.

He doesn't allow himself to hope he can pull it off. He simply will. 

When it's over and Yuuko is clapping and Victor has shifted into a final pose, Otabek says, "Wow." And it's settled.

"I can do that," Yuri declares. He pushes off the boards to jab a finger in Victor's direction. "And that fantasy stuff better not be a fucking fairy joke or I'll kill you." When Victor simply tilts his head and grins, Yuri drops his arm and growls, "No, I'll kill Katsudon."

Katsuki makes a strangled sound. 

Victor laughs. "Now, _Yura_ ," he says, the diminutive giving Yuri pause in his annoyance. Victor always calls him Yurio around Katsuki, has ever since he was branded with the nickname— Yuri suspects it's more because he personally enjoys it rather than any particular need to distinguish his rinkmate from his student-turned-fiancé. Besides, Victor says Katsuki's given name like a pet name, like a prayer, like something meant to be cute and very private. But Victor has never been private with his romantic exploits and it never fails to be fucking disgusting no matter how serious he seems this time. He doesn't skate with hickey's peeking out of from his under his shirt collar anymore but with the way he looks at Katsuki, he doesn't have to. 

"What?" Yuri bites out, feeling a little deflated. 

"I thought giving you something a little darker would allow you to get into the role. But I'm by no means going to make things easy for you," Victor explains, adopting that condescending tone he uses when he coaches. His answer to Yakov's constant yelling. Victor lifts his chin a fraction, eyes hard, and reminds everyone he is in fact the Victor Nikiforov, swept off his pedestal for the first time only by one Japanese figure skater before his retirement. "After all," he says. "You are competing against my Yuuri. And I don't intend to let him lose." 

Yuri is gaping, working on what is no doubt a witty response, he feels Yuuko throw her arms around him. "Oh, you're going to be lovely, Yuri! The song is so wonderful. I can't wait to see you skate to it."

Yuuko's hair tickles his face. She smells like strawberry shampoo. She's trapped his arms against him and all he can do is stand there and let himself be held. He glances helplessly at Otabek, who raises an eyebrow and says, "Neither can I."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!
> 
> Here's Yuri's Free Skate [ song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXdmRgulv54), which Victor cut a little to fit the time constraints. You can imagine whatever you'd like, but I know for sure it starts around 0:43 after the talking part. I feel like Victor would really love Emilie Autumn for her artistry. 
> 
> Yuuko is a gem and I love her.
> 
> It's so weird writing about Victor in Yuri's POV instead of Yuuri's. Victor seems so mean. lol.
> 
> Up next, Yuuri's Short Program. Victor is also choreographing the Free Skate but they'll work on the SP first. Victor is not choreographing Yuri's SP. That will be revealed later. :)


End file.
